"Who Benefits?" Is Not An Ideology.

We start on facebook (of course), where I posted, "Letting the arsonists try and put out their own fire is a dumb plan, even for the American voting public. But at least with shared power the Republicans railing against "guv'ment" in general will be shooting at their own feet, too. Shame on grownups in the GOP for entertaining the idiocy of "mama grizzlies" and letting other nutcases into power. Now we'll see if they can tame 'em, too..."

My facebook friend and sparring partner Matthew responded, "sometimes Dave...I cant tell if you are too much into your ideology, hyperbole, or have no clue. lol. said with love."

Okay. Here's my reply, and I hope you'll indulge me...


Of course, Matt. Taken that way too. And be honest. You did not laugh out loud. You should have said LQTM, laughing quietly to myself... but hey, we were on the subject of hyperbole...

Listen, man. I don't have an ideology. I think for myself. I am a member of no party and the only wing I like is the chicken wing, and it better be hot as hell, with bleu cheese on the side, and celery - old school, upstate new york style.

I have until now come down on the side of the worker, as opposed to the person who inherits the company from his daddy. To me this is common sense. Protect the worker and not his bosses' bosses' bosses' boss - not because of ideology, but because his way of life needs protection and his CEO does not. It would be foolish to minister to the CEO's interests. He's doing just fine and always will.

There is no society of organisms in nature wherein the weak exploit the strong. None. It is always the other way around. The middle class didn't get lost somewhere on a road trip. It has been systematically poisoned and destroyed. Who benefited? Answer that, and you have the answer to the big questions.

As far as having a clue... Our nation is in deep trouble, our infrastructure crumbling, our middle class evaporating... but it's the very best of times for some, and they are laughing at both of us. That's a clue. You should take it, too. Said with love, Boyo.

Want to know what happened to your country? Look at who is prospering, and there you will find what happened to your country. There are winners and there are losers. Once upon a time, the American people reasoned that "winner take all" may not be the best approach to creating a stable nation... for this reason, it is no surprise that the "golden age" of America coincided with the heyday of the labor movement, and tax rates far higher for the wealthy than anything the "Commie" Obama harbors in his wildest dreams.

My "ideology" is: we should call things what they are. The American worker is toast. When will our country be healthy again? When the middle class is gaining back the ground they lost. Then, and only then.

And using "who benefits?" to find the source of the problem is not just for your country - it applies to any country, in any era. When systems of great inequality and suffering prevail, look to where the money goes - and there's your culprit. Count up the millions of foreclosed homes, and look at the Wall Street bonuses coming out higher than ever this year. Look who got richer when the economy tanked.

The deregulation folks. The GOP. Wall Street.

Frankly, I don't see hyperbole or ideology or cluelessness in any of this. But LOL?... ... puh-lease!